11YO- Dropping Hands

Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch

Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.

Dec 18, 2016
163
28
My 11YO has really good power and sees the ball well. She puts the ball in play more times than not and doesn't strike out very often. I think she has two primary improvement opportunities. She has a patience issue....can't wait on the pitch, so with slower pitchers, she's often out front and hits slow dribblers. We're working on this and seeing improvement.

The other issue is she tends to drop her hands pretty regularly in games. When we do T work she seems to do pretty good with keeping her hands up but in a live situation she will fall back on old habits.

What drills have you done and seen success? I see the High T drill and we've only recently incorporated that into our garage days. Any other good ones?

Thanks
Dave
 
Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
My 11YO has really good power and sees the ball well. She puts the ball in play more times than not and doesn't strike out very often. I think she has two primary improvement opportunities. She has a patience issue....can't wait on the pitch, so with slower pitchers, she's often out front and hits slow dribblers. We're working on this and seeing improvement.

The other issue is she tends to drop her hands pretty regularly in games. When we do T work she seems to do pretty good with keeping her hands up but in a live situation she will fall back on old habits.

What drills have you done and seen success? I see the High T drill and we've only recently incorporated that into our garage days. Any other good ones?

Thanks
Dave

The people who will actually be able to help you, e.g. not me, are going to suggest video :p
 
Jul 20, 2013
71
8
I don't like to push products, but we use a "rebels rack". You could use a broom stick but the rack basically takes the hands out of hitting. You can youtube it but we've been working with it for about a year and a half, helping DD go from slapping with a top-down swing to a nike swoosh swing. I'm not an expert, but your DD is more than likely engaging her hands way too much, I'd also use video heavily lol. But I'd also look for casting, early extension, rolling of the wrists etc. since you mentioned a lot of grounders.

Anyway, just remove all "hands" from hitting. Even verbal cues like, "hands to the ball" or even anything regarding hands. The rack does a good job of allowing the player work on rythym, timing, stride, separation of lower/upper half, etc. all without holding a bat and keeping great posture. That would help with her timing issues. I always have my DD time the pitchers movement and when she starts hers, i.e. start your leg kick/stride when the pitcher is at the bottom of her back swing and about to drive forward. Another example, have the hitter work on noticing how a pitcher moves - some have a back swing, double back swing, no back swing - quick, snappy drive vs a fluid, slower start then very quick... All this is just ideas of when your DD can start her hitting sequence consistently by seeing that "Yes, this pitcher has a back swing and she's very quick - therefore I need to start my stride at this point...etc etc" I've asked every girl on my team(s) if they do this and most just glaze over like I've spoken Antartic to them.

In reality, all you really got is about 4,999 more reps till she builds a new habit, *gulp*....I guess I'd use cues like, "high hands" probably

But where I'd personally start is with removing hands from hitting. Check video to see if at the bottom of the swing, contact...are the hands, arms, and shoulders in a "V" ? If so, I'd work more towards this type of contact point, check hands, head behind ball. This pic is of hitting at different pitches, inside, middle, outside. No "V" shape - but these are still shots so in reality I honestly see more extension in hitters both baseball and softball at the point of contact so there is some V but not much at all, it's closer to what's shown in the pic.

Directional-tee.jpg
 
Sep 29, 2014
2,421
113
or not...at least not like the stills you are correct in noting you should be getting a lot more extension than that. Honestly first pic looks like an optical illusion with a swing like that you are not hitting a ball on the outside corner.

I'll let others comment on rebel rack but while I can understand what it's trying to do from a drill standpoint at first glance not really a fan
 
Last edited:
May 24, 2013
12,461
113
So Cal
The issue with tee work is that it takes the pitch-reading and timing component out of the equation. The pitch-reading time window is when players tend to drop their hands to an improper launch position, typically for a level or upward swing plane. This is a faulty process. What we want to see is the barrel being turned to the ball by the hands, launching from up near the rear shoulder.
https://noontimebaseball.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Cabrera_hands_side.gif


As for learning how to wait longer, this takes practice, but could also be related to her swing pattern and weight shift. If she is using a linear shift from over her rear foot to over her front foot, she's likely starting that shift in anticipation of a faster pitch, but when it's slower than expected, she is already committed to the shift and ends up way too far forward by the time the ball gets there, resulting in a very weak arm-powered swing with a poor swing plane.

I'm just making guesses based on a lot of the things I have seen in working with and watching young hitters. If you want some very specific information for your DD, please post video (hitting off a moving ball is better than tee swings).

That said, quite a few people have found helpful information for young players in this video...
 
Last edited:

rdbass

It wasn't me.
Jun 5, 2010
9,131
83
Not here.
I don't like to push products, but we use a "rebels rack". You could use a broom stick but the rack basically takes the hands out of hitting. You can youtube it but we've been working with it for about a year and a half, helping DD go from slapping with a top-down swing to a nike swoosh swing. I'm not an expert, but your DD is more than likely engaging her hands way too much, I'd also use video heavily lol. But I'd also look for casting, early extension, rolling of the wrists etc. since you mentioned a lot of grounders.

Anyway, just remove all "hands" from hitting. Even verbal cues like, "hands to the ball" or even anything regarding hands. The rack does a good job of allowing the player work on rythym, timing, stride, separation of lower/upper half, etc. all without holding a bat and keeping great posture. That would help with her timing issues. I always have my DD time the pitchers movement and when she starts hers, i.e. start your leg kick/stride when the pitcher is at the bottom of her back swing and about to drive forward. Another example, have the hitter work on noticing how a pitcher moves - some have a back swing, double back swing, no back swing - quick, snappy drive vs a fluid, slower start then very quick... All this is just ideas of when your DD can start her hitting sequence consistently by seeing that "Yes, this pitcher has a back swing and she's very quick - therefore I need to start my stride at this point...etc etc" I've asked every girl on my team(s) if they do this and most just glaze over like I've spoken Antartic to them.

In reality, all you really got is about 4,999 more reps till she builds a new habit, *gulp*....I guess I'd use cues like, "high hands" probably

But where I'd personally start is with removing hands from hitting. Check video to see if at the bottom of the swing, contact...are the hands, arms, and shoulders in a "V" ? If so, I'd work more towards this type of contact point, check hands, head behind ball. This pic is of hitting at different pitches, inside, middle, outside. No "V" shape - but these are still shots so in reality I honestly see more extension in hitters both baseball and softball at the point of contact so there is some V but not much at all, it's closer to what's shown in the pic.

View attachment 11731

Yikes!
the rack basically takes the hands out of hitting.
Anyway, just remove all "hands" from hitting
But where I'd personally start is with removing hands from hitting.
To later have to undo all of that 'removing the hands' drill
In reality, all you really got is about 4,999 more reps till she builds a new habit,
'damage' that your DD has done.
Need to learn to use the hands from day one.
11731d1493309339-11yo-dropping-hands-directional-tee.jpg

Why does every still pic look the same except for the contact position of the barrel.
Now your DD will have to re-learn not to glue her rear elbow to her rear hip. Rear elbow needs to 'get through' on most pitched balls. The inside pitch being the exception.

Rebel rack is a joke.
 
Last edited:
May 16, 2016
1,024
113
Illinois
For issues with dropping the hands too much I have used wiffle balls that are attached to a rope. The rope goes through the middle of the wiffle balls. On one end of the rope we have a carabiner clamp. You attach the carabiner to some netting or a L-screen at about eye level. The coach holds the other end of the rope out in front of the hitter about 15-20 feet at about the hitters knee level. You want the hitter to hit the wiffle ball above the rope that is attached. You can't hit the top of the ball above the rope if you are dropping your hands. The hole idea of this drill is to over compensate not dropping your hands in hopes that the batter can find a good middle ground when she goes back to hitting a moving ball.

I don't use this drill if the hitter does not have an issue with dropping their hands because I do not intentionally teach girls to try to hit ground balls. The drill is only used with players that have an issue with dropping their hands.
 

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
42,830
Messages
679,468
Members
21,443
Latest member
sstop28
Top